FEMA Assistance: Limited English Proficiency and Equity
Updated June 7, 2023
FEMA Assistance: Limited English Proficiency and Equity
Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) often
FEMA Regulations and Agency Notices
encounter disproportionate risk during hazards as well as
FEMA issued regulations implementing statutory civil
barriers to federal relief. Statute requires the Federal
rights obligations for federal disaster relief at 44 C.F.R.
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA; the lead agency
§206.11 and 44 C.F.R. Part 7. Per these regulations, entities
for domestic emergency management) to ensure that
receiving most forms of FEMA assistance (e.g., SLTTs and
disaster relief reaches individuals with LEP. This In Focus
nonprofits) may not discriminate against individuals on the
summarizes select risks that language barriers impose
basis of national origin, among other grounds, when
during hazard response and recovery (e.g., evacuation and
administering such relief (LEP is not explicitly mentioned).
sheltering), federal authorities addressing disaster relief for
FEMA may refuse or terminate financial assistance in cases
individuals with LEP, and recent policy proposals to
of noncompliance. Additionally, neither federal personnel
enhance the delivery of federal relief for such individuals.
nor agencies may discriminate against individuals when
providing federal disaster assistance.
Language Barriers—Select Risks
In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Language barriers may exacerbate the effects of hazards
released guidance for agency components, including FEMA
and hinder relief efforts in the following ways:
(“2011 DHS Notice”; 76 Federal Register 21755). The
• Individuals with LEP may not understand evacuation
guidance (1) details federal assistance recipients’
notices or instructions, raising the risk of casualty.
responsibilities to ensure access to individuals with LEP
• Individuals with LEP may not understand emergency
and (2) explains how DHS evaluates compliance.
relief providers, impeding access to emergency medical
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
care, sheltering assistance, and key relief commodities.
•
State and local agencies can send emergency alerts through
Individuals with LEP may not understand federal aid
FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System
applications, written guidance, and oral instructions,
(IPAWS), which distributes alerts via radio, television, cell
deterring or delaying their requests for relief or yielding
phones, and other means. FEMA coordinates with the
insufficient awards. (FEMA reports that it can provide
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which
some assistance in English and Spanish, and contracts
regulates commercial broadcast and mobile service
for assistance in additional languages, though some
providers that elect to participate in emergency alerting.
translations may be inaccurate or unintelligible.)
•
The FCC has adopted rules for the Emergency Alert System
Officials with LEP in state, local, tribal, and territorial
(EAS), which delivers alerts via television and radio (47
governments (SLTTs) and nonprofits may not
C.F.R. Part 11), and the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
understand relief instructions and procedures, inhibiting
system, used by mobile service providers to send alerts to
the delivery of critical assistance.
cell phones (47 C.F.R. Part 10). FCC mandates that EAS
Key Authorities
broadcasters providing foreign language programming
should transmit EAS announcements in the primary
Relevant Statutes
language of the EAS participant (47 C.F.R. §11.55(c)(4)).
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires recipients
The FCC also requires EAS participants to report actions
of federal assistance to ensure that persons with LEP have
taken or planned to reach non-English-speaking audiences
meaningful access to such assistance. Additionally, Section
to help states acquire information on how best to
308 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
disseminate multilingual alerts (47 C.F.R. §11.55(d)). In
Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288,
2016, the FCC adopted WEA rules (47 C.F.R. §10.480)
as amended) requires the issuance of regulations ensuring
requiring wireless service providers to transmit WEA alerts
the provision of disaster relief without discrimination,
issued in Spanish, or that contain Spanish-language
including based on English proficiency.
characters, to cell phone users who specify Spanish as their
preferred language. Local government officials and LEP
In 2006, the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform
stakeholders have urged the FCC to improve multilingual
Act (PKEMRA, P.L. 109-295) amended the Stafford Act. It
EAS and WEA alerting. In February 2023, a letter signed
required the FEMA Administrator to (1) work with SLTTs
by 45 Members from both chambers of Congress urged the
to identify LEP populations and ensure that they are
FCC to expand the number of WEA languages. In April
incorporated into the disaster planning process, (2) ensure
2023, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
that such populations could access disaster relief
that would require providers that send WEA alerts to ensure
information, and (3) develop and maintain a database on
mobile devices can translate alerts into the 13 most
successful language assistance programs that could be
commonly spoken languages in the United States, and
provided to SLTTs during an incident (42 U.S.C. §5196f).
support American Sign Language and speech-to-text. The
rules are pending.
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FEMA Assistance: Limited English Proficiency and Equity
Executive Orders
concurrent disasters require limited FEMA personnel to
On August 11, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive
deploy to multiple regions. FEMA may require additional
Order (E.O.) 13166, Improving Access to English Services
appropriations to support more bilingual permanent staff,
for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, which
short-term reservists, or translators, though some contracted
requires federal agencies to examine the services they
translations have been notably inaccurate.
provide and develop and implement a system to provide
individuals with LEP “meaningful access” to agency
Recent Policy Recommendations
services. The E.O. builds on the prohibitions on
Federal Hiring for Language Competency
discrimination due to national origin in Title VI of the Civil
The 2022 inaugural report of President Joseph R. Biden’s
Rights Act of 1964, as amended. E.O. 13166 directs all
Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native
agencies providing federal financial assistance to prepare a
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (the Commission) called
Language Access Plan (LAP) to improve access to
upon the Office of Personnel Management to provide
programs by eligible individuals with LEP. The E.O.
guidance on hiring bilingual staff, interpreters, and
further directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to oversee
translators to federal agencies that directly provide federal
agency compliance and consistency in implementation.
disaster assistance. Other experts also recommended hiring
Through DOJ guidance, agencies and recipients of federal
local residents that share survivors’ cultures and languages.
financial assistance must assess “meaningful access” to
New Requirements for Federal Grantees
their programs and activities through a four-factor analysis:
The Commission’s report also called upon FEMA to revise
1. The number or proportion of individuals
requirements for SLTTs receiving federal assistance.
with LEP served or encountered in the
Specifically, the Commission recommended that FEMA
service population;
require such entities to identify LEP communities and detail
2. The frequency of contact with individuals
how they will ensure meaningful access to federal relief in
with LEP;
those communities. Currently, DHS recommends similar
actions to establish compliance with federal civil rights
3. The nature and importance of the
requirements (see 2011 DHS Notice). The Commission
program; and
suggested incorporating requirements into grant terms,
4. The agency’s available resources.
scoring methods, and notices of funding opportunities.
DOJ explains, “Applying the four factors, for example, a
Incorporate LEP Communities into Planning
small police department with limited resources
Federal and nonfederal stakeholders and experts
encountering very few LEP people has far fewer language
recommend that preparedness and planning efforts include
assistance responsibilities than larger departments with
more resources and large populations of LEP individuals.”
individuals with LEP (and representative organizations) to
ensure sufficient consideration of their needs.
(66 Federal Register 3834).
Direct Outreach to Affected Populations
FEMA Policy and Guidance
A recent coalition of groups representing disaster survivors
In 2016, FEMA issued a LAP (updated in 2023) to comply
(e.g., Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico) recommended that FEMA
with E.O. 13166. The LAP explains how FEMA conducts
provide assistance notices and application guidance through
assessments to identify affected LEP individuals following
door-to-door campaigns to affected, hard-to-reach
a Stafford Act declaration. The 2016 LAP reported that
populations, particularly LEP individuals. FEMA supported
FEMA releases some relevant information to disaster
similar outreach efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic
survivors in different languages based on these assessments,
and Hurricane Ian. Some entities use commercial off-the-
including “Civil Rights Notices” that acknowledge the right
shelf alerting systems that offer multilingual alerting
of individuals with LEP to receive accessible
options. However, these systems often require people
communication, and notice that FEMA can provide
subscribe or opt-in and do not send alerts to non-
interpreter services in up to 69 languages (at certain
subscribers, including individuals passing through an area.
locations). FEMA’s abbreviated 2023 LAP reported that the
agency is to provide oral and written services to LEP
Data on Language Outreach
individuals, and notices of the availability of such services.
FEMA’s National Advisory Council (an advisory body of
representatives from SLTT governments, emergency
Select Policy Issues
management professionals and experts, and populations
Establishing Trust Across Language Barriers
with special needs) proposed that FEMA track the
languages used to reach survivors as part of an effort to
Language barriers may undermine trust between disaster
assess the equitability of different agency programs.
survivors and emergency responders, jeopardizing
evacuation and relief efforts. For example, some
Erica A. Lee, Analyst in Emergency Management and
immigrants with LEP may avoid government officials due
Disaster Recovery
to fears of immigration surveillance and enforcement.
Meghan M. Stuessy, Analyst in Government Organization
Implementation Gaps and FEMA Capacity
and Management
FEMA’s bilingual workforce has sometimes fallen short of
Elizabeth M. Webster, Analyst in Emergency
demand in post-disaster areas. For example, FEMA did not
Management and Disaster Recovery
have sufficient Spanish-speaking staff to serve survivors in
Jill C. Gallagher, Analyst in Telecommunications Policy
Puerto Rico following Hurricane María (GAO-18-472).
Such shortfalls may be particularly common when
IF12263
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FEMA Assistance: Limited English Proficiency and Equity
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12263 · VERSION 10 · UPDATED